When i was changing the drivers-front axle on my 81 brat, i forgot to compress the brake piston before taking the caliper and rotor off, and now im wondering how i can get it to compress. The only way I knew how to do it before was by taking a screwdriver and wedging it between the inner pad and rotor but obviously that will not work now...im sure this is an easy solution, but i have a total lack of experience, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

im pretty sure the piston is the screw in type. remove the lid from your brake booster (DONT HIT THE BRAKES AFTER DOING THIS), remove caliper as necessary to get to the piston. use needle nose pliers or something of the like to screw in the piston. righty tighty, lefty loosey

 

 

 

RV

When installing new brake pads, Subaru caliper pistons must be screwed into the caliper and not just pressed in like most other cars. Pressing the piston n wihtout turning it will buckle aand thus ruin, the handbrake spindle inside the caliper-from my how to keep your subaru alive book

Edited December 8, 201015 yr by bheinen74
was wrong

okay, thank you for that. where did you get that book? sounds alot more useful then my chiltons.

hi , you have to turn the piston like a screw to get it back in, another thing to watch is, make sure when you finish the notches in the piston are lined up so the nubs on the backside of the new pads fit in them !

if you don't its going to cause problems with the brakes.

okay, thank you for that. where did you get that book? sounds alot more useful then my chiltons.

You could ask your local public library to order one up for you. How to keep your Subaru alive, 2nd edition, by Larry Owens, copyright 1986, 1989, John Muir publications.